Watermelon variety SV2524WY

ABSTRACT

The invention provides seed and plants of the watermelon line designated SV2524WY. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of watermelon line SV2524WY, and to methods for producing a watermelon plant produced by crossing a plant of watermelon line SV2524WY with itself or with another watermelon plant, such as a plant of another line. The invention further relates to seeds and plants produced by such crossing. The invention further relates to parts of a plant of watermelon line SV2524WY, including the fruits and gametes of such plants.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of plant breeding and, morespecifically, to the development of watermelon line SV2524WY.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The goal of vegetable breeding is to combine various desirable traits ina single variety/hybrid. Such desirable traits may include any traitdeemed beneficial by a grower and/or consumer, including greater yield,resistance to insects or disease, tolerance to environmental stress, andnutritional value.

Breeding techniques take advantage of a plant's method of pollination.There are two general methods of pollination: a plant self-pollinates ifpollen from one flower is transferred to the same or another flower ofthe same plant or plant variety. A plant cross-pollinates if pollencomes to it from a flower of a different plant variety.

Plants that have been self-pollinated and selected for type over manygenerations become homozygous at almost all gene loci and produce auniform population of true breeding progeny, a homozygous plant. A crossbetween two such homozygous plants of different genotypes produces auniform population of hybrid plants that are heterozygous for many geneloci. Conversely, a cross of two plants each heterozygous at a number ofloci produces a population of hybrid plants that differ genetically andare not uniform. The resulting non-uniformity makes performanceunpredictable.

The development of uniform varieties requires the development ofhomozygous inbred plants, the crossing of these inbred plants, and theevaluation of the crosses. Pedigree breeding and recurrent selection areexamples of breeding methods that have been used to develop inbredplants from breeding populations. Those breeding methods combine thegenetic backgrounds from two or more plants or various other broad-basedsources into breeding pools from which new lines are developed byselfing and selection of desired phenotypes. The new lines are evaluatedto determine which of those have commercial potential.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the present invention provides a watermelon plant of thewatermelon line designated SV2524WY. Also provided are watermelon plantshaving all the physiological and morphological characteristics ofwatermelon line SV2524WY. Parts of the watermelon plant of the presentinvention are also provided, for example, including pollen, an ovule,scion, a rootstock, a fruit, and a cell of the plant.

The invention also concerns seed of watermelon line SV2524WY. Thewatermelon seed of the invention may be provided, in certainillustrative embodiments, as an essentially homogeneous population ofwatermelon seed of the line designated SV2524WY. Essentially homogeneouspopulations of seed are generally free from substantial numbers of otherseed. Therefore, in one embodiment, seed of line SV2524WY may be definedas forming at least about 90% of the total seed, including at leastabout 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or more of the seed.The population of watermelon seed may be particularly defined as beingessentially free from hybrid seed. The seed population may be separatelygrown to provide an essentially homogeneous population of watermelonplants designated SV2524WY.

In another aspect of the invention, a plant of watermelon line SV2524WYcomprising an added heritable trait is provided. The heritable trait maycomprise a genetic locus that is, for example, a dominant or recessiveallele. In one embodiment of the invention, a plant of watermelon lineSV2524WY is defined as comprising a single locus conversion. In specificembodiments of the invention, an added genetic locus confers one or moretraits such as, for example, herbicide tolerance, insect resistance,disease resistance, and modified carbohydrate metabolism. In furtherembodiments, the trait may be conferred by a naturally occurring geneintroduced into the genome of the line by backcrossing, a natural orinduced mutation, or a transgene introduced through genetictransformation techniques into the plant or a progenitor of any previousgeneration thereof. When introduced through transformation, a geneticlocus may comprise one or more genes integrated at a single chromosomallocation.

In another aspect of the invention, a tissue culture of regenerablecells of a plant of line SV2524WY is provided. The tissue culture willpreferably be capable of regenerating plants capable of expressing allof the physiological and morphological characteristics of the line, andof regenerating plants having substantially the same genotype as otherplants of the line. Examples of some of the physiological andmorphological characteristics of the line SV2524WY include those traitsset forth in the tables herein. The regenerable cells in such tissuecultures may be derived, for example, from embryos, meristems,cotyledons, pollen, leaves, anthers, roots, root tips, pistil, flower,seed and stalks. Still further, the present invention provideswatermelon plants regenerated from a tissue culture of the invention,the plants having all the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of line SV2524WY.

In yet another aspect of the invention, processes are provided forproducing watermelon seeds, plants and fruits, which processes generallycomprise crossing a first parent watermelon plant with a second parentwatermelon plant, wherein at least one of the first or second parentwatermelon plants is a plant of the line designated SV2524WY. Theseprocesses may be further exemplified as processes for preparing hybridwatermelon seed or plants, wherein a first watermelon plant is crossedwith a second watermelon plant of a different, distinct line to providea hybrid that has, as one of its parents, the watermelon plant lineSV2524WY. In these processes, crossing will result in the production ofseed. The seed production occurs regardless of whether the seed iscollected or not.

In one embodiment of the invention, the first step in “crossing”comprises planting seeds of a first and second parent watermelon plant,often in proximity so that pollination will occur for example, mediatedby insect vectors. Alternatively, pollen can be transferred manually.Where the plant is self-pollinated, pollination may occur without theneed for direct human intervention other than plant cultivation.

A second step may comprise cultivating or growing the seeds of first andsecond parent watermelon plants into plants that bear flowers. A thirdstep may comprise preventing self-pollination of the plants, such as byemasculating the flowers, (i.e., killing or removing pollen).

A fourth step for a hybrid cross may comprise cross-pollination betweenthe first and second parent watermelon plants. Yet another stepcomprises harvesting the seeds from at least one of the parentwatermelon plants. The harvested seed can be grown to produce awatermelon plant or hybrid watermelon plant.

The present invention also provides the watermelon seeds and plantsproduced by a process that comprises crossing a first parent watermelonplant with a second parent watermelon plant, wherein at least one of thefirst or second parent watermelon plants is a plant of the linedesignated SV2524WY. In one embodiment of the invention, watermelon seedand plants produced by the process are first generation (F1) hybridwatermelon seed and plants produced by crossing a plant in accordancewith the invention with another, distinct plant. The present inventionfurther contemplates plant parts of such an F1 hybrid watermelon plant,and methods of use thereof. Therefore, certain exemplary embodiments ofthe invention provide an F1 hybrid watermelon plant and seed thereof.

In still yet another aspect of the invention, the genetic complement ofthe watermelon plant line designated SV2524WY is provided. The phrase“genetic complement” is used to refer to the aggregate of nucleotidesequences, the expression of which sequences defines the phenotype of,in the present case, a watermelon plant, or a cell or tissue of thatplant. A genetic complement thus represents the genetic makeup of acell, tissue or plant, and a hybrid genetic complement represents thegenetic make up of a hybrid cell, tissue or plant. The invention thusprovides watermelon plant cells that have a genetic complement inaccordance with the watermelon plant cells disclosed herein, and plants,seeds and plants containing such cells.

Plant genetic complements may be assessed by genetic marker profiles,and by the expression of phenotypic traits that are characteristic ofthe expression of the genetic complement, e.g., isozyme typing profiles.It is understood that line SV2524WY could be identified by any of themany well known techniques such as, for example, Simple Sequence LengthPolymorphisms (SSLPs) (Williams et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 18:6531-6535, 1990), Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), DNAAmplification Fingerprinting (DAF), Sequence Characterized AmplifiedRegions (SCARs), Arbitrary Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR),Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLPs) (EP 534 858,specifically incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), andSingle Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) (Wang et al., Science,280:1077-1082, 1998).

In still yet another aspect, the present invention provides hybridgenetic complements, as represented by watermelon plant cells, tissues,plants, and seeds, formed by the combination of a haploid geneticcomplement of a watermelon plant of the invention with a haploid geneticcomplement of a second watermelon plant, preferably, another, distinctwatermelon plant. In another aspect, the present invention provides awatermelon plant regenerated from a tissue culture that comprises ahybrid genetic complement of this invention.

In still yet another aspect, the invention provides a method ofdetermining the genotype of a plant of watermelon line SV2524WYcomprising detecting in the genome of the plant at least a firstpolymorphism. The method may, in certain embodiments, comprise detectinga plurality of polymorphisms in the genome of the plant. The method mayfurther comprise storing the results of the step of detecting theplurality of polymorphisms on a computer readable medium. The inventionfurther provides a computer readable medium produced by such a method.

In still yet another aspect, the present invention provides a method ofproducing a plant derived from line SV2524WY, the method comprising thesteps of: (a) preparing a progeny plant derived from line SV2524WY,wherein said preparing comprises crossing a plant of the line SV2524WYwith a second plant; and (b) crossing the progeny plant with itself or asecond plant to produce a seed of a progeny plant of a subsequentgeneration. In further embodiments, the method may additionallycomprise: (c) growing a progeny plant of a subsequent generation fromsaid seed of a progeny plant of a subsequent generation and crossing theprogeny plant of a subsequent generation with itself or a second plant;and repeating the steps for an additional 3-10 generations to produce aplant derived from line SV2524WY. The plant derived from line SV2524WYmay be an inbred line, and the aforementioned repeated crossing stepsmay be defined as comprising sufficient inbreeding to produce the inbredline. In the method, it may be desirable to select particular plantsresulting from step (c) for continued crossing according to steps (b)and (c). By selecting plants having one or more desirable traits, aplant derived from line SV2524WY is obtained which possesses some of thedesirable traits of the line as well as potentially other selectedtraits.

In certain embodiments, the present invention provides a method ofproducing watermelon comprising: (a) obtaining a plant of watermelonline SV2524WY, wherein the plant has been cultivated to maturity, and(b) collecting watermelons from the plant.

These and other features and advantages of this invention are describedin, or are apparent from, the following detailed description of variousexemplary embodiments of the devices and methods according to thisinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides methods and compositions relating to plants,seeds and derivatives of the watermelon line designated SV2524WY. Thisline shows uniformity and stability within the limits of environmentalinfluence for the traits described hereinafter. watermelon line SV2524WYprovides sufficient seed yield. By crossing with a distinct secondplant, uniform F1 hybrid progeny can be obtained.

Watermelon line SV2524WY, also known as WMLEJ13-2629, is a pollinizer,which flowers early and for a long period of time. It has deep lobedleaves, which ensure that it provides little competition to the triploidcrop. It's fruits are small and easily crushable. This variety hasresistance to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum race 1.

SV2524WY is uniform and stable. A small percentage of variants can occurwithin commercially acceptable limits for almost any characteristicduring the course of repeated multiplication. However no variants areexpected.

A. PHYSIOLOGICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF WATERMELON LINESV2524WY

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a plant having the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of watermelon line SV2524WY. A description of thephysiological and morphological characteristics of watermelon lineSV2524WY is presented in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of Line SV2524WYSV2524WY Comparison Variety- CHARACTERISTIC (WMLEJ13-2629) Mickeylee 1.Maturity number of days from emergence to 49 51 pollination (femaleflower) number of days from pollination 40 34 (female flower) tomaturity days Relative Maturity (emergence 89 85 to maturity) (asreported in seed catalogs) category early early 2. Ploidy diploiddiploid 3. Plant sex form monoecious monoecious cotyledon shape flatflat cotyledon: size small large cotyledon: shape narrow elliptic mediumelliptic cotyledon: intensity of green color medium medium number ofmain stems at crown 3.4 4.2 number of staminate flowers per 76.4 51.3plant at first fruit set number of pistillate flowers per 6.5 3.6 plantat first fruit set number of perfect flowers per plant 0 0.2 at firstfruit set 4. Stem shape in cross-section round round diameter at secondnode  4.6 mm  9.0 mm surface bristled pubescent cm vine length (at lastharvest)  353 cm  275 cm number of internodes (at last 53.2 41 harvest)ratio: cm vine length ÷ number of 6.6 6.7 internodes (at last harvest)5. Leaf shape ovate ovate lobes lobed lobed length 12.7 cm 15.3 cm width10.1 cm 14.0 cm size ratio longer than wide longer than wide leaf blade:size small medium leaf blade: ratio length/width medium low dorsalsurface pubescence pubescent smooth ventral surface pubescence pubescentpubescent color gray-green gray-green RHS color chart value for the leaf189A 189A color leaf blade: color greyish green greyish-green leafblade: color of veins green green leaf blade: degree of lobing strongstrong leaf blade: blistering medium medium 6. Flower diameter acrossthe staminate  3.0 cm  3.6 cm flower diameter across the pistillateflower  3.0 cm  2.8 cm diameter across the perfect flower   0 cm  3.2 cmcolor yellow yellow RHS color chart value for flower 8B 8A color Time offemale flowering medium medium 7. Mature Fruit shape oval oval fruit:shape in longitudinal section broad elliptic broad elliptic depressionat base absent or very absent or very shallow shallow fruit: shape ofapical part rounded rounded fruit: depression at apex shallow absent orvery shallow length 17.8 cm 22.0 cm diameter at midsection 15.5 cm 20.2cm fruit: weight low medium average weight  2.2 kg  4.9 kg maximumweight  3.3 kg  7.3 kg index = length ÷ diameter × 10 11.5 10.9 surfacesmooth smooth skin color pattern solid (one color) solid primary skincolor light green light green (Charleston Grey) RHS color chart valuefor primary 147C 149D skin color fruit: ground color* of skin lightgreen very light green to *Ground color is the lightest color lightgreen of the skin. In striped fruit, the darker color of the skinconcerns the stripes. fruit: conspicuousness of veining inconspicuous orvery inconspicuous or very weakly conspicuous weakly conspicuous fruit:pattern of stripes only veins only veins fruit: conspicuousness ofstripes inconspicuous or very inconspicuous or very weakly conspicuousweakly conspicuous fruit: size of insertion of peduncle small smallfruit: size of pistil scar small small fruit: grooving absent or veryweak absent or very weak fruit: waxy layer absent or very weak absent orvery weak 8. Rind texture brittle tough thickness of blossom end  1.2 mm 7.9 mm thickness of sides  1.3 mm 10.8 mm fruit: thickness of pericarpvery thin thick 9. Flesh texture crisp crisp coarseness fine-littlefiber fine-little fiber fruit: main color of flesh white red RHS colorchart value for the main 157D 42B flesh color of mature fruitrefractometer % soluble solids of  5%  0% juice (center of fruit) %hollow heart  0% 10% % placental separation 60% 10% % transverse crack 0%  0% only diploid and tetraploid many many varieties: fruit: numberof seeds only diploid and tetraploid short short varieties: seed: lengthonly diploid and tetraploid high medium varieties: seed: ratiolength/width only diploid and tetraploid brown brown varieties: seed:ground color of testa only diploid and tetraploid present presentvarieties: seed: over color of testa only diploid and tetraploid verylarge large varieties: seed: area over color in relation to that ofground color only diploid and tetraploid absent or very weak mediumvarieties: seed: patches in hilum 10. Seed size small small length  7.7mm  8.4 mm width  4.4 mm  5.4 mm thickness  1.7 mm  1.9 mm index 17.515.6 (index = length ÷ diameter × 10) grams per 1000 seeds 39.0 g   50.0gm  number of seeds per fruit 659.9 236.6 color dark brown dark brownRHS color chart value for the seed 177A 165B color *These are typicalvalues. Values may vary due to environment. Other values that aresubstantially equivalent are within the scope of the invention.

B. BREEDING WATERMELON LINE SV2524WY

One aspect of the current invention concerns methods for crossing thewatermelon line SV2524WY with itself or a second plant and the seeds andplants produced by such methods. These methods can be used forpropagation of line SV2524WY, or can be used to produce hybridwatermelon seeds and the plants grown therefrom. Hybrid seeds areproduced by crossing line SV2524WY with second watermelon parent line.

The development of new varieties using one or more starting varieties iswell known in the art. In accordance with the invention, novel varietiesmay be created by crossing line SV2524WY followed by multiplegenerations of breeding according to such well known methods. Newvarieties may be created by crossing with any second plant. In selectingsuch a second plant to cross for the purpose of developing novel lines,it may be desired to choose those plants which either themselves exhibitone or more selected desirable characteristics or which exhibit thedesired characteristic(s) in progeny. Once initial crosses have beenmade, inbreeding and selection take place to produce new varieties. Fordevelopment of a uniform line, often five or more generations of selfingand selection are involved.

Uniform lines of new varieties may also be developed by way ofdouble-haploids. This technique allows the creation of true breedinglines without the need for multiple generations of selfing andselection. In this manner, true breeding lines can be produced in aslittle as one generation. Haploid embryos may be produced frommicrospores, pollen, anther cultures, or ovary cultures. The haploidembryos may then be doubled autonomously, or by chemical treatments(e.g. colchicine treatment). Alternatively, haploid embryos may be growninto haploid plants and treated to induce chromosome doubling. In eithercase, fertile homozygous plants are obtained. In accordance with theinvention, any of such techniques may be used in connection with lineSV2524WY and progeny thereof to achieve a homozygous line.

New varieties may be created, for example, by crossing line SV2524WYwith any second plant and selection of progeny in various generationsand/or by doubled haploid technology. In choosing a second plant tocross for the purpose of developing novel lines, it may be desired tochoose those plants which either themselves exhibit one or more selecteddesirable characteristics or which exhibit the desired characteristic(s)in progeny. After one or more lines are crossed, true-breeding lines maybe developed.

Backcrossing can also be used to improve an inbred plant. Backcrossingtransfers a specific desirable trait from one inbred or non-inbredsource to an inbred that lacks that trait. This can be accomplished, forexample, by first crossing a superior inbred (A) (recurrent parent) to adonor inbred (non-recurrent parent), which carries the appropriate locusor loci for the trait in question. The progeny of this cross are thenmated back to the superior recurrent parent (A) followed by selection inthe resultant progeny for the desired trait to be transferred from thenon-recurrent parent. After five or more backcross generations withselection for the desired trait, the progeny are heterozygous for locicontrolling the characteristic being transferred, but are like thesuperior parent for most or almost all other loci. The last backcrossgeneration would be selfed to give pure breeding progeny for the traitbeing transferred.

The line of the present invention is particularly well suited for thedevelopment of new lines based on the elite nature of the geneticbackground of the line. In selecting a second plant to cross withSV2524WY for the purpose of developing novel watermelon lines, it willtypically be preferred to choose those plants which either themselvesexhibit one or more selected desirable characteristics or which exhibitthe desired characteristic(s) when in hybrid combination. Examples ofdesirable characteristics may include, in specific embodiments, highseed yield, high seed germination, seedling vigor, high fruit yield,disease tolerance or resistance, and adaptability for soil and climateconditions. Consumer-driven traits, such as fruit shape, color, texture,and taste are other examples of traits that may be incorporated into newlines of watermelon plants developed by this invention.

C. PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS

Performance characteristics of the line SV2524WY were the subject of anobjective analysis of the performance traits of the line relative toother lines. Results from the analysis are presented in Table 2.

TABLE 2 Yield of SV2524WY at 3 locations using different pollinizers ina 3 locations × 5 replications study done in 2014 Avg yield AveragePollinizer Avg number of T- (kg per T- fruit T- used Ploidy fruits perplant grouping plant) grouping weight grouping Bambino 3N 0.82 B 5.89 B7.37 A (negative check) MICKYLEE 2N 2.57 A 18.35 A 7.04 A SIDE KICK 2N2.57 A 18.71 A 7.22 A SV2524WY 2N 2.52 A 18.21 A 7.20 A

TABLE 3 Summary of traits measured on pollinizers in a 4 replicationtrial during summer 2013 Average number Average number of of days frommale flowers per transplanting to plant produced over Pollinizer firstmale flower a 25 day interval SV2524WY 19.3 220 SP-5 18.5 162 Pollen Pro12.5 147 Ace 12.8 86 Mickylee 16.5 64

D. FURTHER EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

In certain aspects of the invention, plants described herein areprovided modified to include at least a first desired heritable trait.Such plants may, in one embodiment, be developed by a plant breedingtechnique called backcrossing, wherein essentially all of thephysiological and morphological characteristics of a variety arerecovered in addition to a genetic locus transferred into the plant viathe backcrossing technique. The term single locus converted plant asused herein refers to those watermelon plants which are developed by aplant breeding technique called backcrossing, wherein essentially all ofthe desired physiological and morphological characteristics of a varietyare recovered in addition to the single locus transferred into thevariety via the backcrossing technique.

Backcrossing methods can be used with the present invention to improveor introduce a characteristic into the present variety. The parentalwatermelon plant which contributes the locus for the desiredcharacteristic is termed the nonrecurrent or donor parent. Thisterminology refers to the fact that the nonrecurrent parent is used onetime in the backcross protocol and therefore does not recur. Theparental watermelon plant to which the locus or loci from thenonrecurrent parent are transferred is known as the recurrent parent asit is used for several rounds in the backcrossing protocol.

In a typical backcross protocol, the original variety of interest(recurrent parent) is crossed to a second variety (nonrecurrent parent)that carries the single locus of interest to be transferred. Theresulting progeny from this cross are then crossed again to therecurrent parent and the process is repeated until a watermelon plant isobtained wherein essentially all of the desired physiological andmorphological characteristics of the recurrent parent are recovered inthe converted plant, in addition to the single transferred locus fromthe nonrecurrent parent.

The selection of a suitable recurrent parent is an important step for asuccessful backcrossing procedure. The goal of a backcross protocol isto alter or substitute a single trait or characteristic in the originalvariety. To accomplish this, a single locus of the recurrent variety ismodified or substituted with the desired locus from the nonrecurrentparent, while retaining essentially all of the rest of the desiredgenetic, and therefore the desired physiological and morphologicalconstitution of the original variety. The choice of the particularnonrecurrent parent will depend on the purpose of the backcross; one ofthe major purposes is to add some commercially desirable trait to theplant. The exact backcrossing protocol will depend on the characteristicor trait being altered and the genetic distance between the recurrentand nonrecurrent parents. Although backcrossing methods are simplifiedwhen the characteristic being transferred is a dominant allele, arecessive allele, or an additive allele (between recessive anddominant), may also be transferred. In this instance it may be necessaryto introduce a test of the progeny to determine if the desiredcharacteristic has been successfully transferred.

In one embodiment, progeny watermelon plants of a backcross in whichSV2524WY is the recurrent parent comprise (i) the desired trait from thenon-recurrent parent and (ii) all of the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of watermelon line SV2524WY as determined at the 5%significance level when grown in the same environmental conditions.

Watermelon varieties can also be developed from more than two parents.The technique, known as modified backcrossing, uses different recurrentparents during the backcrossing. Modified backcrossing may be used toreplace the original recurrent parent with a variety having certain moredesirable characteristics or multiple parents may be used to obtaindifferent desirable characteristics from each.

With the development of molecular markers associated with particulartraits, it is possible to add additional traits into an established germline, such as represented here, with the end result being substantiallythe same base germplasm with the addition of a new trait or traits.Molecular breeding, as described in Moose and Mumm, 2008 (PlantPhysiology, 147: 969-977), for example, and elsewhere, provides amechanism for integrating single or multiple traits or QTL into an eliteline. This molecular breeding-facilitated movement of a trait or traitsinto an elite line may encompass incorporation of a particular genomicfragment associated with a particular trait of interest into the eliteline by the mechanism of identification of the integrated genomicfragment with the use of flanking or associated marker assays. In theembodiment represented here, one, two, three or four genomic loci, forexample, may be integrated into an elite line via this methodology. Whenthis elite line containing the additional loci is further crossed withanother parental elite line to produce hybrid offspring, it is possibleto then incorporate at least eight separate additional loci into thehybrid. These additional loci may confer, for example, such traits as adisease resistance or a fruit quality trait. In one embodiment, eachlocus may confer a separate trait. In another embodiment, loci may needto be homozygous and exist in each parent line to confer a trait in thehybrid. In yet another embodiment, multiple loci may be combined toconfer a single robust phenotype of a desired trait.

Many single locus traits have been identified that are not regularlyselected for in the development of a new inbred but that can be improvedby backcrossing techniques. Single locus traits may or may not betransgenic; examples of these traits include, but are not limited to,male sterility, herbicide resistance, resistance to bacterial, fungal,or viral disease, insect resistance, restoration of male fertility,modified fatty acid or carbohydrate metabolism, and altered nutritionalquality. These comprise genes generally inherited through the nucleus.

Direct selection may be applied where the single locus acts as adominant trait. For this selection process, the progeny of the initialcross are assayed for viral resistance and/or the presence of thecorresponding gene prior to the backcrossing. The selection eliminatesany plants that do not have the desired gene and resistance trait, andonly those plants that have the trait are used in the subsequentbackcross. This process is then repeated for all additional backcrossgenerations.

Selection of watermelon plants for breeding is not necessarily dependenton the phenotype of a plant and instead can be based on geneticinvestigations. For example, one can utilize a suitable genetic markerwhich is closely genetically linked to a trait of interest. One of thesemarkers can be used to identify the presence or absence of a trait inthe offspring of a particular cross, and can be used in selection ofprogeny for continued breeding. This technique is commonly referred toas marker assisted selection. Any other type of genetic marker or otherassay which is able to identify the relative presence or absence of atrait of interest in a plant can also be useful for breeding purposes.Procedures for marker assisted selection applicable to the breeding ofwatermelon are well known in the art. Such methods will be of particularutility in the case of recessive traits and variable phenotypes, orwhere conventional assays may be more expensive, time consuming orotherwise disadvantageous. Types of genetic markers which could be usedin accordance with the invention include, but are not necessarilylimited to, Simple Sequence Length Polymorphisms (SSLPs) (Williams etal., Nucleic Acids Res., 1 8:6531-6535, 1990), Randomly AmplifiedPolymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), DNA Amplification Fingerprinting (DAF),Sequence Characterized Amplified Regions (SCARs), Arbitrary PrimedPolymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR), Amplified Fragment LengthPolymorphisms (AFLPs) (EP 534 858, specifically incorporated herein byreference in its entirety), and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs)(Wang et al., Science, 280:1077-1082, 1998).

E. PLANTS DERIVED FROM WATERMELON LINE SV2524WY BY GENETIC ENGINEERING

Many useful traits that can be introduced by backcrossing, as well asdirectly into a plant, are those which are introduced by genetictransformation techniques. Genetic transformation may therefore be usedto insert a selected transgene into the watermelon line of the inventionor may, alternatively, be used for the preparation of transgenes whichcan be introduced by backcrossing. Methods for the transformation ofplants that are well known to those of skill in the art and applicableto many crop species include, but are not limited to, electroporation,microprojectile bombardment, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation anddirect DNA uptake by protoplasts.

To effect transformation by electroporation, one may employ eitherfriable tissues, such as a suspension culture of cells or embryogeniccallus or alternatively one may transform immature embryos or otherorganized tissue directly. In this technique, one would partiallydegrade the cell walls of the chosen cells by exposing them topectin-degrading enzymes (pectolyases) or mechanically wound tissues ina controlled manner.

An efficient method for delivering transforming DNA segments to plantcells is microprojectile bombardment. In this method, particles arecoated with nucleic acids and delivered into cells by a propellingforce. Exemplary particles include those comprised of tungsten,platinum, and preferably, gold. For the bombardment, cells in suspensionare concentrated on filters or solid culture medium. Alternatively,immature embryos or other target cells may be arranged on solid culturemedium. The cells to be bombarded are positioned at an appropriatedistance below the macroprojectile stopping plate.

An illustrative embodiment of a method for delivering DNA into plantcells by acceleration is the Biolistics Particle Delivery System, whichcan be used to propel particles coated with DNA or cells through ascreen, such as a stainless steel or Nytex screen, onto a surfacecovered with target watermelon cells. The screen disperses the particlesso that they are not delivered to the recipient cells in largeaggregates. Microprojectile bombardment techniques are widelyapplicable, and may be used to transform virtually any plant species.

Agrobacterium-mediated transfer is another widely applicable system forintroducing gene loci into plant cells. An advantage of the technique isthat DNA can be introduced into whole plant tissues, thereby bypassingthe need for regeneration of an intact plant from a protoplast. ModernAgrobacterium transformation vectors are capable of replication in E.coli as well as Agrobacterium, allowing for convenient manipulations(Klee et al., Bio-Technology, 3(7):637-642, 1985). Moreover, recenttechnological advances in vectors for Agrobacterium-mediated genetransfer have improved the arrangement of genes and restriction sites inthe vectors to facilitate the construction of vectors capable ofexpressing various polypeptide coding genes. The vectors described haveconvenient multi-linker regions flanked by a promoter and apolyadenylation site for direct expression of inserted polypeptidecoding genes. Additionally, Agrobacterium containing both armed anddisarmed Ti genes can be used for transformation.

In those plant strains where Agrobacterium-mediated transformation isefficient, it is the method of choice because of the facile and definednature of the gene locus transfer. The use of Agrobacterium-mediatedplant integrating vectors to introduce DNA into plant cells is wellknown in the art (Fraley et al., Bio/Technology, 3:629-635, 1985; U.S.Pat. No. 5,563,055).

Transformation of plant protoplasts also can be achieved using methodsbased on calcium phosphate precipitation, polyethylene glycol treatment,electroporation, and combinations of these treatments (see, e.g.,Potrykus et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 199:183-188, 1985; Omirulleh et al.,Plant Mol. Biol., 21(3):415-428, 1993; Fromm et al., Nature,312:791-793, 1986; Uchimiya et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 204:204, 1986;Marcotte et al., Nature, 335:454, 1988). Transformation of plants andexpression of foreign genetic elements is exemplified in Choi et al.(Plant Cell Rep., 13: 344-348, 1994), and Ellul et al. (Theor. Appl.Genet., 107:462-469, 2003).

A number of promoters have utility for plant gene expression for anygene of interest including but not limited to selectable markers,scoreable markers, genes for pest tolerance, disease resistance,nutritional enhancements and any other gene of agronomic interest.Examples of constitutive promoters useful for plant gene expressioninclude, but are not limited to, the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV)P-35S promoter, which confers constitutive, high-level expression inmost plant tissues (see, e.g., Odel et al., Nature, 313:810, 1985),including in monocots (see, e.g., Dekeyser et al., Plant Cell, 2:591,1990; Terada and Shimamoto, Mol. Gen. Genet., 220:389, 1990); a tandemlyduplicated version of the CaMV 35S promoter, the enhanced 35S promoter(P-e35S) the nopaline synthase promoter (An et al., Plant Physiol.,88:547, 1988), the octopine synthase promoter (Fromm et al., Plant Cell,1:977, 1989); and the figwort mosaic virus (P-FMV) promoter as describedin U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,619 and an enhanced version of the FMV promoter(P-eFMV) where the promoter sequence of P-FMV is duplicated in tandem,the cauliflower mosaic virus 19S promoter, a sugarcane bacilliform viruspromoter, a commelina yellow mottle virus promoter, and other plant DNAvirus promoters known to express in plant cells.

A variety of plant gene promoters that are regulated in response toenvironmental, hormonal, chemical, and/or developmental signals can alsobe used for expression of an operably linked gene in plant cells,including promoters regulated by (1) heat (Callis et al., PlantPhysiol., 88:965, 1988), (2) light (e.g., pea rbcS-3A promoter,Kuhlemeier et al., Plant Cell, 1:471, 1989; maize rbcS promoter,Schaffner and Sheen, Plant Cell, 3:997, 1991; or chlorophyll a/b-bindingprotein promoter, Simpson et al., EMBO J., 4:2723, 1985), (3) hormones,such as abscisic acid (Marcotte et al., Plant Cell, 1:969, 1989), (4)wounding (e.g., wunl, Siebertz et al., Plant Cell, 1:961, 1989); or (5)chemicals such as methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid, or Safener. It mayalso be advantageous to employ organ-specific promoters (e.g., Roshal etal., EMBO J., 6:1155, 1987; Schernthaner et al., EMBO J., 7:1249, 1988;Bustos et al., Plant Cell, 1:839, 1989).

Exemplary nucleic acids which may be introduced to plants of thisinvention include, for example, DNA sequences or genes from anotherspecies, or even genes or sequences which originate with or are presentin the same species, but are incorporated into recipient cells bygenetic engineering methods rather than classical reproduction orbreeding techniques. However, the term “exogenous” is also intended torefer to genes that are not normally present in the cell beingtransformed, or perhaps simply not present in the form, structure, etc.,as found in the transforming DNA segment or gene, or genes which arenormally present and that one desires to express in a manner thatdiffers from the natural expression pattern, e.g., to over-express.Thus, the term “exogenous” gene or DNA is intended to refer to any geneor DNA segment that is introduced into a recipient cell, regardless ofwhether a similar gene may already be present in such a cell. The typeof DNA included in the exogenous DNA can include DNA which is alreadypresent in the plant cell, DNA from another plant, DNA from a differentorganism, or a DNA generated externally, such as a DNA sequencecontaining an antisense message of a gene, or a DNA sequence encoding asynthetic or modified version of a gene.

Many hundreds if not thousands of different genes are known and couldpotentially be introduced into a watermelon plant according to theinvention. Non-limiting examples of particular genes and correspondingphenotypes one may choose to introduce into a watermelon plant includeone or more genes for insect tolerance, such as a Bacillus thuringiensis(B.t.) gene, pest tolerance such as genes for fungal disease control,herbicide tolerance such as genes conferring glyphosate tolerance, andgenes for quality improvements such as yield, nutritional enhancements,environmental or stress tolerances, or any desirable changes in plantphysiology, growth, development, morphology or plant product(s). Forexample, structural genes would include any gene that confers insecttolerance including but not limited to a Bacillus insect control proteingene as described in WO 99/31248, herein incorporated by reference inits entirety, U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,052, herein incorporated by referencein its entirety, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,500,365 and 5,880,275, hereinincorporated by reference in their entirety. In another embodiment, thestructural gene can confer tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate asconferred by genes including, but not limited to Agrobacterium strainCP4 glyphosate resistant EPSPS gene (aroA:CP4) as described in U.S. Pat.No. 5,633,435, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, orglyphosate oxidoreductase gene (GOX) as described in U.S. Pat. No.5,463,175, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Alternatively, the DNA coding sequences can affect these phenotypes byencoding a non-translatable RNA molecule that causes the targetedinhibition of expression of an endogenous gene, for example viaantisense- or cosuppression-mediated mechanisms (see, for example, Birdet al., Biotech. Gen. Engin. Rev., 9:207, 1991). The RNA could also be acatalytic RNA molecule (i.e., a ribozyme) engineered to cleave a desiredendogenous mRNA product (see for example, Gibson and Shillito, Mol.Biotech., 7:125, 1997). Thus, any gene which produces a protein or mRNAwhich expresses a phenotype or morphology change of interest is usefulfor the practice of the present invention.

F. DEFINITIONS

In the description and tables herein, a number of terms are used. Inorder to provide a clear and consistent understanding of thespecification and claims, the following definitions are provided:

Allele: Any of one or more alternative forms of a gene locus, all ofwhich alleles relate to one trait or characteristic. In a diploid cellor organism, the two alleles of a given gene occupy corresponding locion a pair of homologous chromosomes.

Backcrossing: A process in which a breeder repeatedly crosses hybridprogeny, for example a first generation hybrid (F₁), back to one of theparents of the hybrid progeny. Backcrossing can be used to introduce oneor more single locus conversions from one genetic background intoanother.

Crossing: The mating of two parent plants.

Cross-pollination: Fertilization by the union of two gametes fromdifferent plants.

Diploid: A cell or organism having two sets of chromosomes.

Emasculate: The removal of plant male sex organs or the inactivation ofthe organs with a cytoplasmic or nuclear genetic factor or a chemicalagent conferring male sterility.

Enzymes: Molecules which can act as catalysts in biological reactions.

F₁ Hybrid: The first generation progeny of the cross of two nonisogenicplants.

Genotype: The genetic constitution of a cell or organism.

Haploid: A cell or organism having one set of the two sets ofchromosomes in a diploid.

Linkage: A phenomenon wherein alleles on the same chromosome tend tosegregate together more often than expected by chance if theirtransmission was independent.

Marker: A readily detectable phenotype, preferably inherited incodominant fashion (both alleles at a locus in a diploid heterozygoteare readily detectable), with no environmental variance component, i.e.,heritability of 1.

Phenotype: The detectable characteristics of a cell or organism, whichcharacteristics are the manifestation of gene expression.

Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL): Quantitative trait loci (QTL) refer togenetic loci that control to some degree numerically representabletraits that are usually continuously distributed.

Regeneration: The development of a plant from tissue culture.

Resistance: As used herein, the terms “resistance” and “tolerance” areused interchangeably to describe plants that show no symptoms to aspecified biotic pest, pathogen, abiotic influence or environmentalcondition. These terms are also used to describe plants showing somesymptoms but that are still able to produce marketable product with anacceptable yield. Some plants that are referred to as resistant ortolerant are only so in the sense that they may still produce a crop,even though the plants are stunted and the yield is reduced.

Self-pollination: The transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigmaof the same plant.

Single Locus Converted (Conversion) Plant: Plants which are developed bya plant breeding technique called backcrossing wherein essentially allof the physiological and morphological characteristics of an inbred arerecovered in addition to the characteristics conferred by the singlelocus transferred into the inbred via the backcrossing technique. By“essentially all,” it is meant that all of the characteristics of aplant are recovered that are otherwise present when compared in the sameenvironment and save for the converted locus, other than an occasionalvariant trait that might arise during backcrossing or directintroduction of a transgene. A single locus may comprise one gene, or inthe case of transgenic plants, one or more transgenes integrated intothe host genome at a single site (locus).

Substantially Equivalent: A characteristic that, when compared, does notshow a statistically significant difference (e.g., p=0.05) from themean.

Tetraploid: A cell or organism having four sets of chromosomes.

Tissue Culture: A composition comprising isolated cells of the same or adifferent type or a collection of such cells organized into parts of aplant.

Transgene: A genetic locus comprising a sequence which has beenintroduced into the genome of a garden watermelon plant bytransformation.

G. DEPOSIT INFORMATION

A deposit of watermelon line SV2524WY, disclosed above and recited inthe claims, has been made with the American Type Culture Collection(ATCC), 10801 University Blvd., Manassas, Va. 20110-2209, USA, andassigned ATCC Accession No. PTA-121599. The seeds were deposited withthe ATCC on Sep. 19, 2014. Access to this deposit will be availableduring the pendency of the application to the Commissioner of Patentsand Trademarks and persons determined by the Commissioner to be entitledthereto upon request. The deposits will be maintained in the ATCCDepository, which is a public depository, for a period of 30 years, or 5years after the most recent request, or for the enforceable life of thepatent, whichever is longer, and will be replaced if it becomesnonviable during that period. Applicant does not waive rights grantedunder this patent or under the Plant Variety Protection Act (7 U.S.C.2321 et seq.).

Although the foregoing invention has been described in detail by way ofillustration and example for purposes of clarity and understanding, itwill be obvious that certain changes and modifications may be practicedwithin the scope of the invention, as limited only by the scope of theappended claims.

All references cited herein are hereby expressly incorporated herein byreference.

What is claimed is:
 1. A seed of watermelon line SV2524WY, a sample ofseed of said line having been deposited under ATCC Accession NumberPTA-121599.
 2. A plant of watermelon line SV2524WY, a sample of seed ofsaid line having been deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-121599.3. A plant part of the plant of claim
 2. 4. The plant part of claim 3,wherein said part is selected from the group consisting of a pollen, anovule, scion, a rootstock, a fruit, and a cell of the plant.
 5. Awatermelon plant, or a part thereof, having all the physiological andmorphological characteristics of the watermelon plant of claim
 2. 6. Atissue culture of regenerable cells of watermelon line SV2524WY, asample of seed of said line having been deposited under ATCC AccessionNumber PTA-121599.
 7. The tissue culture according to claim 6,comprising cells or protoplasts from a plant part selected from thegroup consisting of embryos, meristems, cotyledons, pollen, leaves,anthers, roots, root tips, pistil, flower, seed and stalks.
 8. Awatermelon plant regenerated from the tissue culture of claim 6, whereinthe regenerated plant comprises all of the physiological andmorphological characteristics of watermelon line SV2524WY, a sample ofseed of said line having been deposited under ATCC Accession NumberPTA-121599.
 9. A method of producing watermelon seed, comprisingcrossing the plant of claim 2 with itself or a second watermelon plant.10. The method of claim 9, wherein the plant of watermelon line SV2524WYis the female parent.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the plant ofwatermelon line SV2524WY is the male parent.
 12. An F1 hybrid seedproduced by the method of claim
 9. 13. An F1 hybrid plant produced bygrowing the seed of claim
 12. 14. A method for producing a seed of aline SV2524WY-derived watermelon plant comprising the steps of: (a)crossing a watermelon plant of line SV2524WY with a second watermelonplant, a sample of seed of said line having been deposited under ATCCAccession Number PTA-121599; and (b) allowing seed of a SV2524WY-derivedwatermelon plant to form.
 15. The method of claim 14, further comprisingthe steps of: (c) crossing a plant grown from said SV2524WY-derivedwatermelon seed with itself or a second watermelon plant to yieldadditional SV2524WY-derived watermelon seed; (d) growing said additionalSV2524WY-derived watermelon seed of step (c) to yield additionalSV2524WY-derived watermelon plants; and (e) repeating the crossing andgrowing steps of (c) and (d) to generate further SV2524WY-derivedwatermelon plants.
 16. A method of vegetatively propagating a plant ofwatermelon line SV2524WY comprising the steps of: (a) collecting tissuecapable of being propagated from a plant of watermelon line SV2524WY, asample of seed of said line having been deposited under ATCC AccessionNumber PTA-121599; (b) cultivating said tissue to obtain proliferatedshoots; and (c) roofing said proliferated shoots to obtain rootedplantlets.
 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising growing plantsfrom said rooted plantlets.
 18. A method of introducing a desired traitinto watermelon line SV2524WY comprising: (a) crossing a plant of lineSV2524WY with a second watermelon plant that comprises a desired traitto produce F1 progeny, a sample of seed of said line SV2524WY havingbeen deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-121599; (b) selecting anF1 progeny that comprises the desired trait; (c) crossing the selectedF1 progeny with a plant of line SV2524WY to produce backcross progeny;(d) selecting backcross progeny comprising the desired trait and thephysiological and morphological characteristic of watermelon lineSV2524WY; and (e) repeating steps (c) and (d) three or more times toproduce selected fourth or higher backcross progeny that comprise thedesired trait and essentially all of the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of watermelon line SV2524WY when grown in the sameenvironmental conditions.
 19. A watermelon plant produced by the methodof claim
 18. 20. A method of producing a plant of watermelon lineSV2524WY comprising an added desired trait, the method comprisingintroducing a transgene conferring the desired trait into a plant ofwatermelon line SV2524WY, a sample of seed of said line SV2524WY havingbeen deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-121599.
 21. A seed of theplant of claim
 19. 22. A method of producing watermelons comprising: (a)obtaining the plant of claim 2, wherein the plant has been cultivated tomaturity, and (b) collecting at least one watermelon from the plant.